Valve means



July 1, 1958V W, w, MARTlN ET AL y 2,841,169

INVENTORS WALTER W. MARTIN CALVIN L. MARTIN A TTOR/VE'V July 1, 1958 w. w. MARTIN ETAL 2,841,159

VALVE MEANS Filed oct. s. 1955 2 sheets-sheet 2 A r ron/vn United States Patent O rifee 2,841,169 VALVE MEANS Walter W. Martin and Calvin L. Martin, Pauls Valley, Okla.

Application October 3, 1955, Serial No. 538,002

8 Claims. (Cl. 137-400) This invention relates to mechanism to refill `tank means which is adapted to be emptied of a liquid, particularly tanks which are rapidly emptied of liquid, such as flush tanks, through a high volume flush valve. In a more specific aspect, this invention relates to feed or refill valve means for flush tanks of water closets.

Water closet tank feed or refill valves have long been known in the art, such valves being controlled by a weighted float that acts through a lever arm connected thereto, so that at low closet tank water level as a result of flushing the closet, the feed valve is opened, and at high closet tank water level as a result of the tank being refilled, the feed valve is closed. And, some'of the prior art devices are designed to maintain the feed valve in wide open position during refill, separate float controlled mechanism closing the valve relatively instantaneously when the closet tank is full. These valve mechanisms of the prior art all have their disadvantages, particularly they cause trouble because of undue Wear onthe valve seats, which is a serious problem in water containing relatively appreciable quantities of salts, and the valve mech.- ansms of the prior art do not function to stop theiiow of water to the closet tank when the tank flush Valve sticks or is hung up in open position, or when the tank flush valve leaks. With the feed valves of the prior art and a leaky or stuck flush valve, water continues to flow into the closet tank and `out through the stool. This is wasteful and expensive.

We have invented new rell or feed valve means for tanks, such as water closet tanks, which are adapted to be emptied of liquid through an emptying valve, such as a water closet tank iiush valve. The new valve means of our invention has means toclose Vthe feed or refill valve on the liquid supply line, and there is means which actuates this valve closing means. Gther means is connected to the actuating means which causes the refill valve to open upon emptying the tank and which also 'causes the refill valve to close upon refill of the tank. Cooperating with these means is other means which act to hold the actuating means to in turn cause the refill valve to remain open during Yrefill of the tank, and we also provide control means which act to release the actuating means to in turn cause the refill valve to close when the tank is full.

The new valve means of our invention is very advantageous. The refill or feed valve seating surfaces are not subjected to undue wear from abrasive seepage, since the valve remains in wide open position during refilling, and our valve is noiseless in operation throughout the `refill of the water closet tank, whereas the usual valve is noisy in the final phase of filling. Our valve mechanism works trouble free even under severe liming and corrosive conditions after prolonged use. With a particular preferred specific embodiment of the new feed valve mechanism of our invention waste of water through flush valve sticking in a water closet tank is eliminated by automatic closing of the feed valve, and when a leaky iiush valve is present. our new valve assembly operates to keep the feed valve closed to prevent water waste. The problem of a Watergllklbg Fatented July 1, 1958 logged float which is encountered with the usual known feed valves is eliminated, and the closing-tension on theV feed valve is constant and unvaryingno matter the water pressure. Use has shown our new valve means toghe a substantial step forward in the art. l

It is an object of our invention to provide new mechanism to refill tank means which is adapted to be emptied of a liquid, particularly tanks which are rapidly emptied of liquid, such as flush tanks, through a Vlarge volume flush valve. Y

It is another object of our invention to provide new feed or refill valve means for flush tanks of water closets.

Still other objects of our invention are to provide a long-lasting, trouble free water closet tank feed valve which will prevent wasting water through a stuck or hung flush valve or a leaky ush valve.

And, other objects and advantages of the new refill valve means for a liquid holding tank of our invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure.

Drawings accompany and are a part of this disclosure. These drawings depict preferred specific embodiments of our invention and it is to be understood that such are not to unduly limit the scope of our invention.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional elevation view through a water closet tank wherein is mounted a preferred specific feed valve of our invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional elevation view of the valveseat mechanism of the valve.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of latch means with the operating lever arm of the valve mechanism.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional elevation view of these latch means. j

`Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation view of the lever arm', partly cut away, and the actuating means therefor in position on refill just before release of the lever arm to close the feed valve (not shown).

Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation view, partly cut away,

of this lever assembly just after the release.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional elevation View through the water closet tank with the valve assembly in position after iiushing and with a stuck or hung iiush valve.

Fig. 8 is an elevation View, partly in cross section, showing another preferred specific embodiment of valve seat and operating means for the feed Valve.

Following is a discussion and description of the new valve means of our invention made with reference to the drawings whereon the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same parts and/ or structure. The discussion and description are of preferred specific embodiments of our invention, and it is to be understood that such are not to unduly limit the scope of our invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in Fig. l the usual water closet tank llhouses a preferred specific embodiment of our new feed valve means. The tank 11 has a usual fiush valve 13 with stem 15 which is operated by a usual fiushing handle (not shown), and the stem 15 is supported for operation by bracket 17. Bracket 17 is conveniently mounted as is usual on tank overflow'line 18 which leads to the closet bowl.

The new feed valve of our invention is suitably attached to the closet tank supply water line by seat and plug member 19. The water inlet line 21 communicates with the water supply line for the closet and projects telev scopically into closed end member 23 which moves up above the normal level of the water in tank 11, so that no back siphoning can occur.

The base portion of member 19 supports arm members 29 to which they are attached, and collar 31 is in turn supported and iixedly mounted about line 31l so that the line will move up and down in relation thereto. Spiral spring 33 is backedl by collar 31 andl is in compression, exerting force against collar 35 which is mounted on outer line 23 to in turn force valve seat 27 down against the upper end of inner inlet line 21 to close the valve. Such feed valve structure has been found to be very advantageous, since the refill water for the tank is discharged in the bottom of the tank (as indicated by the arrows on Figs. l and 7) with no splashing occurring, and minimizing corrosion problems.

Cap 2S slidably mounts one end portion of compound lever assembly 37 which is pivoted in a central portion at point 39 by upright member 41 mounted on the base portion of member 19. And, as one skilled in the art can see, this lever can just as conveniently be a simple lever assembly as the compound lever shown on thedrawings. Lever'37 upon operation causes the refill valve to open byV raising member 23 against the force of springl theY feed deweights container 43, spring 33 acts to raise container 43 and is stopped in doing so by hook 57 engaging catch 49. This permits the feed valve to remain in wide open position during rell to overcome liming and abrasive wear with poor and hard water and partly open valves. When the water level in tank 11 upon rell reaches a point to iloat iloat 53, which remains suspended and caught by pin 55 upon flushing, arrn 51 turns catch 49 to unlatch hook 57 and allow spring 33 to lower tube 23 to close the into the tank by force of gravity when the level of Water in the container is higher than the level in tank 11.

Lever 37 has latch means therewith 'whereby'it is held in a position to keep pipe 23 raised and the feed valve open during refill of tank 11 after flushing the water closet. Lever assembly 37 has a slotted portion 47 which pivotally mounts a catch 49 transverse to the slot. This catch 49 has a flat face portion as shown. The latch is pivoted in operation by a lever arm 51 rigidly attached thereto, the lever arm movement'being controlled by a rubber, cork or plastic ball float 53 on one end and limited in movement in one direction by pin 55 attached to slotted portion 47 of lever 37, so that upon operation to open the rell valve pin 55 catches the outer end of arm' 51 in the position shown in Fig. 7. Float 53 normally floats, and is suspended in the atmosphere when the closet tank is emptied in flushing. 'Y

The hook 57 of the latch is formed on the upper end of lever arm 53 which is pivotally mounted by bracket l 61 rigidly attached to upright member 41. The other end of lever 59 mounts a float 63 which can conveniently be cork, rubber, a plastic ball, or the like. This float 63 is normally submerged, exerting force to engage the hook 57 and latch 49, and drops when the water level drops too low upon flushing the water closet to move arm 59 out of position to engage catch 49 and the latch, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. In normal operation, hook 57 engages catch 49 when container 43 and4 lever 37 move upwardly to hold same.

Y Fig. l shows the at rest position of the feed valve assembly, and the operation is as follows. Arm 15 is raised to unseat flush Valve 13 at which time the water rushes out of tank 11 into the closet bowl. Container 45 weighted by the water therein drops when not buoyedvup by the water in tank 11 and when in the atmosphere over the tank water. Lever 37 then functions to raise tube 23 to open the feed valve, water flowing ont line 21 down therearound and out into the tank 11 to begin to Vrefill same, and water flows during refill from the space between tubes 21 and 23 through tube 75 into overflow line 18 to refill the closet bowl after discharge. Float 63 keeps arm 5.@ in engaging position, and when sufficient water has run out of container 43 through hole 45 t0 reduce the weight of same and/or force of buoyancy feed valve, and in doing this container 43 raises back up to the normal at rest position of Fig. l. Fig. 5 shows the relative position of the parts during rell just before release of lever 37, and Fig. 6' shows the position just after catch 49 has pivoted to release.

If flush valve 13 sticks or hangs up open upon flushing as in Fig. 7, the float 63 will fall and not be buoyed to exert force to position arm 59 and hook 57 for engaging catch 49, and thereupon when the water runs out of container 43 through hole 45 to deweight the container sufciently, spring 33 will close the feed valve and raise container 43. Also, if llush valve 13 leaks, the water will slowly leave tank 11 and container 43 so that the feed valve is never opened. In these instances, our. new valve assembly prevents waste of water which would occur with the usual valve.

Ifv desired, while awaiting repair of a leaky flush valve 13 a stopper for hole 45 can be provided, so that the container will be weighted all the time and will only be deweighted by the buoyant force resulting from submersion in the tank 11 water upon refill. As the water leaks out of tank 1l, the weighted container will raise member 2,3 to open the feed valve to slowly pass water into the tank 11, The leaky flush valve 13 should then be repaired `immediately, since such feed valve operation will cause undue wear on same.

And, as will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing discussion, perforate container 43 can be replaced by a weighted member of constant weight in the atmosphere which is only deweighted by the buoyancy of thewater in tank 11 upon refill. In this instance the value of stopping water ilow into the tank 11 is lost in case of a stuck or leaky flush valve.

In Fig. 8A is shown another preferred structure for the feed valve proper, which can be used with either a contpound lever similar to lever assembly 37 or a simple centrally pivoted lever. In this valve spring 67 in compression iswbacked by collar 69 mounted on fixed inlet line 21 and contacts a threaded flange 71 on outer line 73 to force it and valve seat 75 downwardly to close the valve. The upper housing 77 which moves with line 73 is preferably threadedly connected as shown for easy replacement of valve seat 75 and repair of the upper end seat on line 21,. Water exits at the lower end as shown by the arrows on Fig. 8 from between 21 and 73. The closet bowl refill tube leads to the overflow 18 and carries water during the` refill of tank 4'11. This valve assembly functions in the same manner as the other valve depicted.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, various modifications of this invention can be made, or followed in the light of this disclosure and discussion, without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure or from the scope of the claims.

We claim: v

l. A water closet feed valve assembly, comprising, in combination, a spring loaded relill valve adapted to be urged to closedy position by the spring, a first lever pivoted in a central portion, one end portion of said lever connected to said refill valve in valve opening relation upon operation of said lever, the other end portion of said lever having a weighted member thereon adapted when in the atmosphere to overcome said spring to open said refill valve and when submerged and free in the flush tank Y water to exert less force than necessary on said lever to open said valve against the force of said spring, latch means with said lever having a catch and a hook to engage said catch, a second lever pivoted in a central portion having a normally submerged oat on one end portion and connected to said hook on the other end portion and adapted to engage said latch means to hold said lever with said valve in wide open position upon flushing said Water closet to empty the fiush tank thereof, and a third lever pivoted in a central portion having a normally buoyed float on one end portion and connected to said catch on the other end portion and adapted to release said latch means to allow said spring to close said refill valve when said iiush tank has been refilled.

2. The apparatus of claim l wherein said weighted member is a perforated container adapted to temporarily contain water when said liush tank of said water closet is flushed, exert force to operate said lever to open said rell Valve and move said latch means into latched position with said hook, and adapted to lose water when in the atmosphere to become of less weight than necessary to maintain said valve in open position.

3. A Water closet feed valve assembly, comprising, in combination, a refill valve, closing means to urge said refill valve to closed position, lever means pivotally mounted in a portion between end portions, one end portion of said lever means adapted to open said refill valve upon operation of said lever, the other end portion of said lever having a weighted member thereon adapted when in the atmosphere to open said refill valve and when submerged and free in the flush tank water to allow said closing means to close said refill valve, latch means for said lever means, said latch means comprising first means having hook means adapted to engage catch means to hold said lever upon flushing said flush tank to maintain said refill valve in open position during refill of said ush tank, said first means having a normally submerged fioat operable on the lower level of water in said flush tank during liushing operation, and second means having said catch means adapted to release said latch means and said lever means to allow said closing means to close said refill valve when said flush tank has been refilled, said second means having a normally floating oat operable on the upper level of water in said flush tank.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said weighted member is a perforated container adapted to temporarily contain Water to vary the weight of said weighted member and upon flushing said flush tank to be weighted until said latch means is engaged to hold said lever in said open valve position, and said water closet feed valve assembly is adapted when the flush tank valve of said water closet hangs in open position to prevent engagement of said hook with said catch to allow said closing means to close said reill valve.

5. Refill valve means for a tank adapted to be rapidly emptied of liquid through a flush valve, comprising, in

combination, a refill valve, means to close said refill valve, lever means, said lever means operatively connected to said refill valve closing means, a Weighted member operativeiy connected to said refill valve and adapted when in the atmosphere to open said relill valve and when submerged in said liquid to ailow said rell valve to be closed, first float controlled means to hold said refill valve open during refill of said tank, the oat of said rst means being normally submerged and operable on the lower level of water in said iiush tank during tiushing operation, and second float controlled means to allow said refill valve to be closed upon refill of said tank, the float of said second means normally fioating and operable on the upper level of water in said fiush tank.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said weighted member is a perforated container adapted to temporarily hold said liquid during emptying of said tank to vary the weight of said weighted member, and said refill valve means is adapted when said flush valve remains open upon liushing said tank to prevent said first means from holding Lsaid reiill valve open.

7. Refill valve means for a tank adapted to be emptied of liquid through an emptying valve, comprising, in combination, a refill Valve, means to close said refill valve, means to actuate said refill valve closing means, means connected to said means to actuate adapted to cause said refill valve to open upon emptying said tank and to cause said refill valve to close upon refill of said tank, first means to hold said actuating means in open refill valve position during filling of said tank, said first means to hold said actuating means having a lioat normally submerged and operable on the lower level of Water in said tank during emptying operation, and second means to release said actuating means for actuating said rell valve closing means upon filling said tank, said second means to release said actuating means having a normally floating float operable on the upper level of water in said tank.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said catch is a member having a iiat face portion and being pivotally mounted in said lever in an elongated slot therein, said hook is slidably operable in said slot, and said normally submerged oat is adapted, in response to abnormal lowering of the lower water level in said tank upon iiushing, to actuate said second lever to move said hook within said slot to a position for non-engagement with said catch, whereupon said spring is allowed to close said valve after sufiicient loss of water from said perforated container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,044,422 Roberts Nov. 12, 1912 2,238,158 Cross Apr. l5, 1941 2,739,610 Wiegers Mar. 27, 1956 

